Dunlap in Sequatchie County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Thunder in the Valley

Civil War in Sequatchie County

By Brandon Fletcher, July 15, 2015

1. Thunder in the Vallley CWT Marker

Inscription. The outbreak of the war divided Sequatchie County families, and local men served on both sides of the conflict. Union and Confederate armies marched through the county, civilian law broke down, and marauders used the conflict as an excuse to rob, kill, and settle old scores. The William Rankin house, the first dwelling built in Dunlap, was pillaged, and Rankin fled.

Thousand of soldiers marched on the county's roads and turnpikes. In August 1862, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's army passed through on its way north to invade Kentucky. Late in the summer and fall of 1863, after the Battle of Chickamauga, the county served as a base for both Union and Confederate armies at different times during the battles for Chattanooga. Union Col. John T. Wilder reported that his arrival here in August 1863 proved timely for "surprising and capturing a party of 14 rebels and releasing 5 Union prisoners they were about to hang."

The fight for Chattanooga directly touched the southern part of the county on October 2, 1863, when Confederate Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry attacked a Union wagon train headed for Chattanooga on the treacherous Campbell and Anderson Turnpike. The train had more than 1,000 wagons full of supplies, pulled by an estimated 4,500 mules. Wheeler's successful raid destroyed a vast quantity of Union property.

Federal

By Brandon Fletcher, July 15, 2015

2. Gen. Braxton Bragg; Col. John T. Wilder; Gen Joseph Wheeler

All images courtesy Library of Congress

forces occupied Sequatchie County for the remainder of the war, but marauders still roamed the mountains and valley harassing and stealing from the residents. The war and its aftermath created enduring resentments and wrought profound changes on Sequatchie County as on the nation.

Location. 35° 21.285′ N, 85° 24.089′ W. Marker is in Dunlap, Tennessee, in Sequatchie County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Cordell Lane and Tennessee Route 28, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Located in the Sequatchie County Veterans Memorial Park. Marker is in this post office area: Dunlap TN 37327, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 4 other markers are within 13 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Wheeler's Raid (approx. 4½ miles away); Old Madison (approx. 6.7 miles away); Corral Road (approx. 11.9 miles away); Sequatchie College (approx. 12.7 miles away).

"Mountain Region of North Carolina and Tennessee," 1865, Campbell & Anderson Turnpike is highlighted in green.

By Brandon Fletcher, November 25, 2011

4. Sequatchie County Veterans Memorial Park

By Brandon Fletcher, November 25, 2011

5. Sequatchie County Veterans Memorial Park

By Brandon Fletcher, November 25, 2011

6. Sequatchie County Veterans Memorial Park

By Tom Bosse, October 22, 2017

7. Thunder in the Valley Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2017. This page originally submitted on July 15, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 232 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 15, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. 7. submitted on October 23, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.